


Ineluctable

by mydeardeath



Category: DCU (Comics)
Genre: Alpha Tim Drake, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Derogatory Language, M/M, Omega Damian Wayne
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-10
Updated: 2018-07-31
Packaged: 2019-04-20 03:24:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14251998
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mydeardeath/pseuds/mydeardeath
Summary: Bruce called Damian back to Gotham in urgency, not letting him any choice but to accept. Except that, unknowingly to him, Damian's heat had started.





	1. Chapter 1

He knew it would happen sooner or later, yet he was unprepared when that day came. None of them knew. None of knew he was an Omega. He had hidden it from them for years as his mother taught him. She had been completely terrified when he had presented, fearing her father reaction to Damian's caste. She had given him scent blockers and told everyone he was a Beta (posing as an Alpha would have been too dangerous). To this day, she had been the only one aware of the truth. Damian would have liked to keep that way. His father may have been an open-minded Alpha but the society in which he lived wasn't. Omegas were treated poorly in the US, his father influence could never protect him totally. He could have his freedom taken away from him in the blink of an eye. The person that could take the most for him was Tim Drake. He had felt it the instant they met. He had felt their bond immediately, as the young man would have if it wasn't for Damian scent blockers. That why he hated the Alpha. He hated him as much as he feared him. If his secret, if their bond was discovered, Tim would become his guardian and have all rights over him. So he pushed him away, insulting and attacking him every time they came across. Befriending him would have been dangerous, it could lead him to let his guard down, which he couldn't afford. Not at the price of his free will.

He had been raised believing that he was superior to the common people, told that the world was within his reach. All of his beliefs had been crushed the day he presented as an Omega. It had shattered his perfect little world where he was powerful. In people mind, he wouldn't be one to dominate, but to be dominated. And as much as he hated to admit it, it terrified him. So he hid it behind arrogance, keeping people away, protecting his secret. Things had become harder as the years passed, as his first heat came when he was fourteen. He was on suppressants but still had them once in a while. Putting them off for too long was just taking the risk of a big one during which he would have absolutely no control. But he could neither afford to have them every two months, as the norm was, nor have them at the same frequency. He had a family of detectives, they were bound to notice if there was a pattern in the time he disappeared. Because it's what he did. He would drop off the grid for almost a week when he had them, refusing to tell why and where to the great despair of his father. He didn't even try to lie to him, his father would have seen right through him and he would have made him want to investigate even more. Now that he was seventeen, he had had eight heats altogether, not enough to be healthy but not the worst considering his situation. His ninth was approaching and he had planned to leave for the following week, warning his father of his absence. In fact, he had already been gone for two days when his father demanded him back immediately, threatening to find him if he didn't come by himself. Except it was too late to postpone his heat, it had already begun. 

He could have run off, but he didn't doubt his father when he told he would hunt him if need be. The only reason Damian's secret hadn't been discovered, yet, was that his father had chosen to respect his boundaries. Because he had decided to trust him. If he were to come after Damian, the truth would come to light. He would find Damian's hideout and scent the deep smell of Omega that filled the room. He would take him seconds to put everything together. It would take seconds to ruin Damian's life. So he took a couple extra pills, put on his costume and hoped the effect would last long enough for him to take care of whatever problem was going on in Gotham and come back safely without any problems. 

It took him two hours to get back, two hours during which the only thing he wanted was to run the other way. He felt uncomfortable, his skin hitching and making him squirm in his seat. Still, he put on a blank face before entering the cave, not letting any of his discomfort show. They were all geared up and waiting for them. All of his "brothers" were present and even Cass was here. As much as he liked her (even if he was going to say so to her), he would have preferred if she had not been. She was too good at reading people. She would probably already know of his condition if she had still been living in the manor when he arrived or if she visited more. That also why he hadn't tried to create any relationship between them. Which he would have, had the circumstances been different. After all, she was the only one who could understand where he came from. They had both been raised to be assassins, to be their parent weapon.

His father briefed him quickly : a dangerous weapon of alien origin what being brought into Gotham tonight and none of them had been able to know where and how. So they would have to check every possible location at the same time, hence why everyone was needed. It meant that if his scent blockers and suppressors went off, he would be alone to fend for himself, which could be dangerous. But it could also mean that if another apprehended the shipment by themselves, he could go back to his safehouse without seeing anyone. Damian was assigned the north side of the Miller harbor, while Tim had the south one. Thankfully, they both agreed, without needing to say a word to each other, to take separate vehicles.

***

Damian settled at the top of one of the nearing building to have a good view over the whole area. Despite the late hour, there was still a lot of people working at the harbor and lots of boats still coming in. Most of them were yachts. It was summer and, at this time of the year, the rich people of Gotham enjoyed to make a tour in the water to flaunt their money in front of the "commoner". And in front of each other, of course. It was pathetic. Everyone knew his father was the richest man of the city, so Damian didn't understand why they bothered to compete to determine who had the biggest. He recognized most of them, and while they weren't necessarily good people he doubted they had anything to do with a weapon of massive destruction.

For a few hours, the night was pretty calm besides the usual activity. None of the other had used their comm, so he meant that nothing had happened yet. Or they had missed it. Damian hoped not. Should they not stopped tonight, Batman would make them stay until they found a lead. Which could last days. Days where he would be close to the entire family while his heat deepened. It was imperative they succeeded.

It was beyond three in the morning when their target finally decided to act. The boat in itself was nothing suspicious, it was a typical yacht, and Damian couldn't see any armed guard. But the hull of the boat was deep into the water, showing that it was transporting something heavy. Which didn't match the image that type of boat was sending. Less reckless that he had been in his early days as Robin, Damian took care to warn the others of what he had found before going in. He waited patiently for the yacht to berth to sneak in. The pilot was wearing a standard captain uniform, but it wasn't like it was really hard to copy. On the other hand, the three others men were obviously not rich playboys. They were dressed in all black, with combats boots, and heavily armed. They had a gun each, and an array of knives.

Damian started to creep closer to them to try to hear what they were saying to each other when he suddenly felt dizzy. His heart was hammering in his chest as his vision blurred and he swayed against the wall, unable to stand straight by himself. He was sweating and shaking, which could only mean one thing : his heat had caught up to him. Panicking, Damian tried to run out of the boat before the men could find him. And somehow he managed to reach land again, just to collapse a few moments later. He was partially hidden behind a little shack, but his scent would lead the men right to him. He had to get up and leave. He could already hear them coming, calling for him, calling for the sweet little Omega to show himself.

Using every available surface, Damian dragged his weakened body away, step by step. By now, he could barely think of anything else than "RUN", his mind screaming repeatedly. But his legs were too wobbly to carry him any faster. 

"There you are, little whore." The man said in Damian's ear as his arms closed around his waist.

"Isn't it precious ? Robin, the boy wonder is an Omega slut" One of them laughed.

"Don't worry, bitch, we will take good care of you. Give you what you need."

"Maybe I could even mate you ?" the first asked in a sweet tone. "Wouldn't you like that, slut ?" Damian whimpered weakly when he felt the man teeth scratch his neck. 


	2. Chapter 2

There were a few screams around, the sound of bones breaking and of men falling on the ground. Then a gurgle escaped from the throat of the man standing next to him and suddenly his grip on Damian disappear, letting the Omega fall. Thankfully, strong arms caught him at the last moment, stopping his head from hitting the floor. The grip on him was tight but Damian wasn't afraid anymore, he felt safe. He brought his nose to the man neck and inhaled, relaxing instantly.

"Alpha" he muttered, satisfied.

***

Tim was getting impatient. He knew that their work tonight was of the utmost importance but he was feeling like he was losing his time here. He had so many things to work on, may it be as Red Robin or as the CEO of Wayne Enterprise. He was fucking thankful when his comm beeped, signaling that one of the other had found something. He was even more satisfied when Bruce decided to send him as back-up. They couldn't all give up their post in case this was only a false alarm or a decoy, but Tim was also at the harbor Miller, just on a different side. He would finally have some action !

Tim shot his grappling gun toward the nearest crane and started to swing off toward Damian's location. He tried to contact the younger but he got no answer from Damian. He wasn't much worried, Damian may have been in a position where he couldn't make any noise, it didn't mean anything had happened to him.

He started to think that maybe something was wrong when the strong scent of an Omega in heat hit him. The case was just about the shipment of an alien weapon of massive destruction. Nothing to do with the traffic of unmated Omegas.

He hoped Damian didn't need immediate help because he had to check on the Omega first and get him somewhere safe. He contacted the rest of the family to ask for assistance to be sure that Damian wouldn't be alone if he had really found their target.

He followed the scent of the Omega without difficulty. The scent was powerful and pulling Tim toward its origin. The pheromones shouldn't have been affecting him so much. His suppressants not only assured that nobody could guess he was an alpha while he was in costume but that no scent could affect him. But somehow, this particular Omega was getting to him. Maybe he should have asked for back-up for this matter too. He didn't trust his reaction right now. He didn't want to scare the Omega more than he probably already was at the moment.

When he finally arrived in front of the Omega, he froze. Tim was a thinker, always running dozens of scenarios in his head to anticipate all possibilities and be able to handle every one of them. But that he hadn't predicted. Thankfully, while his brain shut off, his instincts took over and he jumped into action, reaping apart the three alphas from the unwilling omega. From Damian.

The youngest of the family seemed really out of it, unable to stand on his own. Tim was quick enough to stop from hitting the ground and he feared for an instant that the Omega would start to panic by the arrival of yet another alpha, but Damian became like putty in his hand, relaxing as soon as Tim touched him. Maybe he could tell, even in his state, that Tim was part of his pack. Even if his normal self always refuted that fact.

Tim held Damian in his arm, trying very hard to keep himself from claiming the alluring Omega. Thankfully, the first member of the family that arrived was Jason, who was also an Omega. Tim didn't know how he would have reacted if an Alpha had come first. He barely had any control left over his own body. Jason was quick to assess the situation and to act. He relieved Tim from Damian, making the Omega whimper slightly and try to hold onto Tim but he was too weak to resist. Tim took a few steps back as soon as he was free, but even that wasn't enough to shake off the Omega's scent from him. He didn't think he could do so as long as he stayed in the area. But he couldn't leave now, they still had work to do. They had to hand over the three unconscious Alphas to the police and find their boat. If Tim's deduction was right, the men that had attacked Damian were the one they had been looking for all along. Thus, the weapon shouldn't be far from here.

Tim was hesitant to leave, his instinct telling him not to let the Omega out of his sight. The rational part of him knew he would be safe with Jason. Plus, he really had to get away before losing his mind and doing something stupid. He had been trained to be unaffected by the pheromones of Alphas and Omegas in the case his suppressants would cease to function or if he hadn't access to them for a long period of time, so he could tell that his reaction wasn't normal. He was strongly reacting to Damian and the boy wasn't in a state to fight, distance between them was the best solution.

Turning his back to Damian was hard, especially when he heard him call for him, but Tim willed himself not to look back. He inspected the boat nearing the place he had found Damian until he picked up his scent in one of them. He progressed silently inside the boat. It was unlikely that there was anyone left here, they would have reacted when the three other men had suddenly deserted their work to chase off an Omega. But Tim had no mean to know that for sure and preferred to remain cautious. He found the weapon in no time, the thing was bigger than him and stood out in the room. He sent a quick message to the rest of the bats to inform them that the weapon had been located, so they all could get here or go back home. He then dialed the GCPD so they could come and get the henchmen. Batman would take care of the weapon himself, not trusting it in the hand of the police and consequently of the government.

By the time they were all done, Damian and Jason had disappeared from the harbor and by judging Bruce and Dick's attitude, they had no idea what had happened earlier. They could scent that an Omega in heat had been here, but they had no mean to know that it was Damian. They probably thought that the both of them had just brought back said Omega home. And Tim wasn't going to be the one to give the big news to Bruce. He would discover it soon enough and it was better if it happened at home, away from the prying eyes of the policemen.

Tim took off quickly, glad he had come here with his own bike and that he didn't have to drive home with Bruce. He had felt the older man eyes bored into his skull while he talked to the commissioner. He may have no clue about Damian, but he still could tell that something important had happened. He willingly chose a longer route, hoping to arrive at the Manor after the truth had come to light. Dick and Bruce wouldn't oppose to an Omega being on the team, Jason was proof of that. But Damian had lied to them for years. Ironically, as much as he himself often lied to them, Bruce didn't appreciate his family hiding anything from him. Dick would probably be hurt that Damian, his Robin, hadn't trusted him enough to tell him the truth about being an Omega.

When Tim finally arrived in the cave, it was unsurprisingly desert, Bruce and Dick's costumes discarded in a corner. Tim didn't bother hurrying upstairs, he didn't need to be there at the moment. He trusted Jason and Alfred to handle the family's alphas. It's not as if they could expect Damian to answer their questions in his current state. They would just have to wait. This should be fun.

Tim stepped out of his suit and went to take a shower, scrubbing off the scent of Omega's heat from his skin. He would have to clean his suit too. After buying himself easily half an hour, Tim finally turned off the shower, put on a pair of sweats and decided to go see how things were going in the Manor.

Tim hadn't expected things to be normal, there was after an Omega in heat in the mansion after all and probably two irritated and restless alphas. Nonetheless, Tim had never imagined finding such chaos upstairs. Having taken a shower seemed pointless now. The air was heavy with Damian scent, filling the entire manor. Almost all the windows were open, yet the scent remained strong. He could hear people running and yelling on the first floor.

Dick jumped on him as soon as he saw him :

"Have you seen Damian ?"

"What ? What do you mean ? Didn't Jason brought him back ?" Tim was confused, he had been sure that Jason would do it.

"Yes, but he disappeared from his room just a few minutes ago !" Dick was looking frantic, talking even faster than usual.

"How the hell did the four of you managed to lose an Omega in heat in the house ?" Tim asked, incredulous.

"His scent is everywhere, it's impossible to tell where he is. And we left him alone after cleaning and feeding him, to give him privacy. Knowing Damian, he will hate that we saw him in such a vulnerable position."

Tim sighed, he understood perfectly their choice, but Damian couldn't possibly be discreet in his current state, they should have heard him moving. They each take a floor and search every room in vain.

"Maybe he called Jon. He's an Alpha, isn't he ?" Jason asked when then all gathered together after their failure. Bruce blanched immediately, probably already imagining himself shoving kryptonite down the kid's throat for daring to touch his son.

"Let's not jump to conclusion. Damian may still be in the Manor. I'm going to call Kon, see if he knows anything, ok ?"

While Tim left for his room, Alfred led Bruce away from his others sons. Dick punched Jason's shoulder for running his mouth, but there was no heat behind it. In fact, he couldn't stop thinking about what Jason had said. Maybe it was true. Maybe his pure and innocent little brother was being defiled right at the moment. Jason hit him in return, pulling out of his thoughts and the two started to bicker, for lack of a better thing to do.

As soon as he entered his room, Tim knew something was off. He could barely see anything in the dark, but he could discern a form in his bed and he could hear it breathing. It wasn't hard to guess what was going right there. None of them had thought to check their own rooms. He turned the light on to confirm his theory, and indeed Damian was here, nesting in his bed. A very naked Damian, it seemed. He wasn't totally exposed, but the sheets were hanging low on his hips. Plus, Alfred hadn't probably bothered to dress him since he was in heat and it was unlikely had done so by himself.

"Damian ?" He called to see if the younger was awake. He got only a few whimpers in response, so he crept closer to the Omega, setting a knee on the bed near Damian. He hesitated to touch him, not trusting himself at the moment. The scent was really getting to him and he feared he would lose control. After another second of hesitation, he reached for Damian.

He could feel how hot the skin was under his fingers. He shouldn't have affected him more than that. It was just skin. They constantly had to touch each other when they got injured. Yet, he felt weird with Damian bare shoulder under his palms. He was troubled just by a fucking shoulder ! He withdrew quickly, almost running out of his room. He nearly bumped into Dick in his haste to get away from Damian. The two oldest men suddenly stopped their discussion to focus on Tim.

"Was is it, babybird ? Did Kon tell you anything ?"

Usually, Tim would have glared at Jason for trying to scare Dick, but he was too panicked to do so right now.

"Damian...he's..."

"Alpha"

All three turned toward the voice. Damian was here, looking lost, wrapped in Tim sheets.

"Hey, Dami, you're here. You scared us you know" Jason started stroking Damian's arm to comfort him while talking. "I will help you to your room, ok ? You have to stay there this time, it's safer for you."

Jason gently encouraged him to come with him, but the Omega stayed still, his eyes meeting Tim's.

"Alpha" He repeated, trying to reach for Tim with his arm. Tim's instincts were screaming at him to yield to the Omega plea, but he stood in the hallway frozen because he had finally realized why Damian was so enthralling to him. He hadn't wanted to be included in the downfall that was sure to follow the end of Damian's heat. But, that was no longer an option. He was now involved personally in this. Because Damian was his.


	3. Chapter 3

They hadn't budged an inch in the past twenty minutes, the silence only broken once by the sound of Alfred setting down cups and tea on the table separating Bruce and him, entering and exiting the room without a word. None of them had touched it, their gaze never wavering from each other. Tim didn't dare to break the silence, not really knowing what to say to Bruce. He would prefer that man start, even if it was to accuse him of taking advantage of his son. Anything would be better than this silence. But, well, what had Tim expected ? This was the Batman. Words weren't his things. No, the man was probably waiting for Tim to explain it all. Not that he knew much more. He had realized less than an hour ago what Damian was to him, why he had been so drawn to the Omega scent. He hadn't had time to think about it, to let the truth really settle in. Damian had been on scent blockers for years, never getting off them. It kept him from emitting any smell, making him pass easily as a Beta as their scent was fainter than the one of other casts. Had Damian's heat never happened in his presence, he would have never uncovered the truth. But Damian had. The other man may have been hiding his own scent, but Tim knew for sure that he could smell others. He had often complained about it, making snide remarks at Dick and him for smelling too strongly of Alpha. They had taken his behavior for jealousy, as Ra's had wanted an Alpha heir and looked down on Damian for "failing" to be one.

Dick had made the same realization after Jason had led Damian to his room, leaving him alone with Tim in the hallway. Damian had known that Tim was his Alpha but had not said anything. He had rejected their bond. It made sense since he was ten when they met so he didn't necessarily mean he deemed Tim unworthy of him. But it still hurt to be undesired by his mate.

"I'm sure everything will be fine" Dick had offered to comfort him. It was nice of him to try but Tim didn't have that much faith. Damian had made clear he hated Tim. Well, lots of people were happy without their mate. Tim could do without his too !

 

***

  
Damian started to emerge from sleep, slowly opening his eyes. It took some time getting used to the dark but he was quick to recognize his room. Patrol last night must have been really tiring for him to have no memory of coming home. He still felt exhausted after what was probably hours of sleep. His body was sore all over and his skin felt dirty, sticking to the sheets. He should probably get up and take a shower. But he didn't want to move at the moment. He was surprised at his own laziness. He wasn't usually like this. Unless...

Just as he thought about it, the thick scent of heat assaulted him and memories of his last night on patrol flooded back into his mind. He remembered his heat starting on patrol, the alphas surrounding him, touching him, and Tim...

Damian suddenly felt small in his king size bed, his nest of cushions and blankets no longer feeling safe and his breath became shallow as panic overwhelmed him. He brought his knee to his chest as to shield him from the rest of the world. His secret was exposed to Tim and certainly to the whole family. He may be in his room, but he wasn't in his home. He had never passed a heat at the manor before. And there was no chance that his family hadn't smelt it.

His heart was beating loudly in his chest now, blood rushing to his head and his whole body began to shake. Horrifying thoughts started to fill his head. He imagined what would have happened had Tim found him too late. He imagined the Alphas touching him more than they had already done. Of their leader really claiming him, making him the property of some low life. He would rather off himself than belonging to that kind of man.

Would be Tim's any better ? Theoretically, he knew that his predecessor wasn't the kind of Alpha to force himself on an unwilling Omega. But Damian was, by this country's law (and most country of the world) his thing. This was probably the best revenge he could get on Damian for the way he had treated him since the day they met. Damian knew he had been horrible to the other man, pushing him as far away as possible with insults and hits. He had even tried to kill him once. He had been so blinded by dread upon discovering that the boy donning the Robin costume as this time was his mate, that he had thought that killing him would be the safest option for him. He wouldn't have been the first time he had murdered someone to protect his secret, his integrity. His mother had taught to have no remorse when it came to it. She had many flaws, he had no trouble admitting it, but she had been the best ally he had ever had as an Omega. Even after disowning him she had kept silent about his caste.

Tim could easily force him to do anything from now on if he wished to. There was no escaping it. No matter how much of a good guy Tim might be, Damian couldn't trust someone holding that much power over him. It was inconceivable for him. No, he couldn't let Tim have that much control. He had to escape, far from him, far from Gotham.

Moved by his newfound goal, Damian finally got his breathing under control and finally got up from his bed. He took a quick shower, careful to not make too much noise and not bothering with waiting for the water to warm up. He mechanically got dressed and reached for the suppressant hidden under a wooden lath in his closet and masked his scent with a perfume imitating Beta pheromones. He still smelled too strongly of heat to go out with just scent suppressor.

Now he just had to leave the manor unseen. No big deal. He would have been easier at night when most of them were out on patrol or down the cave but since he wasn't that much hungry, Alfred must have kept bringing him meal while he was too out of it to feed himself and was bound to do so soon again. And as soon as the old man would see he was awake and standing, he would call his father. Call Tim. Not that Alfred hated him and wanted him to suffer but he was loyal to them too and would feel compelled to tell them. Plus he probably was worried that Damian would try to run away from the situation. With reason.

But, well, he didn't matter that his entire family was made of detectives. He had been raised by the league of assassins. By "ninjas" as some people liked to call them. He could go past them unnoticed if he really wanted too. He may not be easy to realize but it wasn't impossible. And Damian was no ordinary man anyway.

Damian opened his door silently, peering in the hallway to make sure that nobody was around before leaving his room. With his shoes in his hand, he advanced in the room without a sound. The entire manor was calm. Too calm. He felt like his breath was echoing in the whole house. Maybe it meant they were all out, but Damian doubted it. They wouldn't have let him alone here in his... condition.

He progressed slowly, all senses on alert. And he almost made it to the front door without problems but as his hand was touching the doorknob he felt someone watching him. He was tempted to not turn and just run for it. But he knew that he wouldn't go far. Not weak as he always was just after a heat. Or with his shoes still in his hands. He took his time facing the person behind him. He was surprised to find Cassandra here. Last he had known she was still out of the country. They must have informed her of his situation. She stayed silent for a while, studying him.

"My plane takes off in two hours" was all Cassandra said before turning her back to him, her offer clear for anyone that knew her. He hadn't expected to found an ally in her, Tim was the person she was the closest to in this family and didn't this counted as a betrayal ? But he wouldn't refuse her help, as strange as it seemed coming from her. 

He knew she always used one of Bruce private plane, he was easier than to try to pass the security in an international airport with the kind of baggage their family usually brought with them. The two hours just left him time to go to his home, take his passport and a few clothes. Cash would be good too. He could be sure that his father would know if he used his credit card and he neither wanted to be a burden to Cassandra. She was already kind enough to him.

Keeping himself off the road and prying eyes, Damian made his way to an old abandoned barn not far away from the manor. There was once a passage here that laid to the cave. His father had shut it down years ago. But Damian knew that Jason had reopened it. His older brother had been tired of Bruce intruding in his safehouses and had sought revenge. He liked to watch Bruce narrowed his eyes when he mentioned things he should never have heard about. Damian did too, that why he had kept his mouth shut.

He knew Jason kept a bike here and hoped he wouldn't mind him borrowing it. Not that he really cared about it. He needed it and it's not as if  Jason would be able to complain to Bruce unless he wanted to lose the kind of leverage this place offered him. 

From there, he had no trouble getting home nor on the plane.

 

***

 

The meeting had been long and draining, and above all useless. Tim had felt tired for the past few days. He wasn't really productive at work and his employees didn't seem to be either. Mistakes kept happening in every department and the council was on his ass for it. Especially after he had completely forgotten to finish his presentation for the start of the week. And it's not as if he could explain to them that he had been too busy busting criminals that night to protect their pathetic asses nor that afterward he had had the most awkward conversation ever with his adopted father about Damian. Who happened to be an Omega. They would have adored knowing that part. Vultures like they were, they would have descended upon the boy to marry him to their own children and take possession of the boy's fortune. Yes, most of it was still Bruce's but like each of the siblings, he owned a part of the company.

Talking to Bruce that night had really taken a toll on him and he had gone right afterward. The man hadn't been angry at him, not that he had any reason to be. Tim had been as clueless as him. He had asked about what Tim intended to do. And he had answered honestly : he had no idea. He would wait to actually talk to the boy before doing anything. This had satisfied Bruce. But what had he imagined ? For what kind of Alpha did he take Tim to be ? He wouldn't do anything without Damian consent, no matter that he technically had the right to.

Getting home wasn't that much better these days. Damian's scent was less strong than before but still lingering everywhere. Tim had had to change room even after Alfred cleaned it. Dick had fled the Manor while he was talking to Bruce and Jason had left soon after. He had told Alfred to call him if he needed him but hadn't wanted to stay more than that. Which was understandable. Bruce was on edge, questioning himself as a father. His own son had never felt like he could be open about his caste with him. Another son he had failed. And a Bruce on edge wasn't even harder to live with.

He was halfway home when Alfred call him. Tim put him on speaker, frowning. The older man knew at what time he was coming back to the Manor, what could be so urgent to phone him now ?

"Master Timothy ? It's about Master Damian. I'm afraid he had disappeared."

***

 

Damian had never been to Hong Kong before. His mother had brought him once or two in China but never in one of the big cities. Having a new city to explore would offer him a nice distraction. He still would have to be discreet and not be recognized. He wouldn't be good if the newspapers were to give off his position. But he would give him something to keep busy.

Unfortunately, he never made it further than the airport. His grandfather was waiting for him, dressed in western clothes. He had a big toothy smile on his face as if he was happy to see Damian which made him feel uneasy. Ra's wasn't preparing to fight. He was acting like he had already won.


End file.
